Chords
A Augmented
A · C# · E#
The augmented triad — two stacked major thirds, splitting the octave into three equal parts.
Also written A+ · A+5 · A^#5
A Augmented
A · C# · E#
Voicings on the piano
| Voicing | Notes | Play it on your instrument |
|---|---|---|
| Closed, root position | A3 · C#4 · E#4 |
Tap a key or a fret to hear it.
Anatomy
A Augmented (Aaug) contains the notes A · C# · E#, each with a role measured as an interval from the root.
Read on: how triads are built
Inversions
An inversion of A Augmented puts a chord tone other than A in the bass; the name after the slash is that bass note.
Where it lives
The keys and the scales A Augmented belongs to.
In which keys
A Augmented is diatonic to 3 keys; the numeral is its degree and the label its harmonic function.
Scales that contain it
A Augmented fits inside these scales, each built on A.
- A AlteredA · Bb · B# · C# · D# · F · G
- A Phrygian DominantA · Bb · C# · D · E · F · G
- A Harmonic MajorA · B · C# · D · E · F · G#
- A Flat Six PentatonicA · B · C# · E · F
- A Whole Tone PentatonicA · C# · Eb · F · G
- A AugmentedA · B# · C# · E · E# · G#
- A Mystery #1A · Bb · C# · Eb · F · G
- A Six Tone SymmetricA · Bb · C# · D · E# · F#
Understanding the A Augmented chord
Names and symbols
Aaug is the chord symbol for A Augmented; it is also written A+, A+5, A^#5.
How it is built
On A it is A · C# · E#: 1P · 3M · 5A. The fifth is raised a semitone, which makes both thirds major and the whole chord symmetrical.
How it is used
Like the diminished seventh its symmetry means it belongs to no key, so it functions as a pivot or as a moment of suspension. As an altered dominant (the ♯5) it sharpens the pull toward resolution.
In a rising inner-voice cliché — I, I+, I6, I7 — it is the second chord, where one voice climbs chromatically while everything else stays put.
Learn this properly
Chapter 10: Chords: Triads and SeventhsCommon questions
- What notes are in Aaug?
- Aaug contains A · C# · E#. Name any set of notes with the chord identifier.
- How do you build an augmented chord?
- Stack two major thirds: root, major third, augmented fifth.
- How many different augmented triads are there?
- Four. The chord splits the octave into three equal parts, so the twelve roots produce only four distinct note sets.
- What notes are in the A Augmented chord?
- The A Augmented chord contains the notes A · C# · E#: the root A with the intervals 1P, 3M, 5A stacked above it. Play them together for the chord or one after another for an arpeggio. The lowest note is normally A, but any chord tone can take the bass in an inversion.
- What intervals make up the A Augmented chord?
- Measured from A, the A Augmented chord stacks the intervals 1P, 3M, 5A. The quality of the third and of the seventh, if there is one, is what gives the chord its character; the rest of the notes colour it. Every interval in the formula links to its own page, with its sound.